The Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) reported today that the AVAC (Automatic Vacuum Collection) underground garbage removal system is out of service once again.
According to an Advisory at 5 p.m today from RIOC:
Dear Roosevelt Island Community:
The East side line of the AVAC system is currently offline due to an ongoing clog in the system.
DSNY will begin making daily garbage pickups for the affected buildings starting Thursday, December 11th. Building managers have been notified to bring all garbage out to the curb after 7:00 PM for 6:00 AM pickup.
We apologize for the inconvenience this outage has caused and will continue to work with DSNY to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
-RIOC Maintenance
NYC Sanitation Department Chief Engineer Stephen Dickens show us the inner workings of the Roosevelt Island AVAC system in this December 9 Instagram video and reports bed frames, frying pans and even a mannequin have at times clogged and then been removed from the AVAC pipes.
During the December 4 Board Meeting, RIOC Directors approved a $360,000 contract to replace a portion of the West side line pipe of the AVAC system. According to a memo from RIOC Assistant Vice President of Engineering & Capital Projects & Planning Alvaro Santamaria:
… The AVAC system, installed in the mid-1970s, efficiently manages the removal of over 3,120 tons of waste annually from residential buildings on Roosevelt Island. This vacuum system relies on two (2) main branches of pipe to transport garbage from the East and West sides of the island. Garbage is transported underground from each building’s chutes through discharge valves that open when the collection system activates, pulling the garbage into the AVAC Plant.
… Due to decades of high velocity waste movement and repeated impact at pipeline curves, the West main pipe, located underground near the plant, has experienced significant deterioration. It now requires replacement of approximately 75 feet of pipe and two 90 degrees elbow assemblies. While regular maintenance practices have extended the useful life of the pipe, this replacement is necessary to ensure reliable system operations ….
Perhaps portions of the AVAC East Side Line Pipe need to be replaced as well.
Follow along on this October 2022 tour of the Roosevelt Island AVAC system with NYC Sanitation worker Teddy.
From the Seawall steam tunnel degradation ( who is fixing this ?) to the emergency demolition of the steam plant to the poor state of the AVAC system and to the closed pier, ships prow, poor state of roads and sidewalks, empty retail stores, Red Bus 6 with a rear door that opens only when it feels like it, one has to ask what does RIOC management do with this public benefit corporation other than collect a nice salary and perform the bare minimum?
Will there be a comprehensive reboot of how infrastructure and services are provided on the island as part of the lease renewal process??
Can we really not do better at all of this ? We need elected resident representation on decision making and a greater say in these matters.